Celebrity Reading Lists

How are your reading challenges coming along? Is it one of your New Year resolutions to read a new book every month this year? So you have already made a list of what you want to read or you have just started thinking about it? Either way, it is always good to know the titles that were recommended by people who we admire. That is why we have collected celebrity reading lists from people who have changed the world or stunned us with their performance, or sometimes have done both.

Bill Gates’ Books for 2019

If you admire someone and you want to understand how the person thinks and what determines his or her decisions, one of the best ways to get into this person’s head is to find out what books he or she reads. Bill Gates is a prolific leader who does so much for the world. He is also an avid book lover and reader and in his blog gatesnotes he regularly posts his summer reading lists as well as his end of year favourites. Recently Time published what literature Bill Gates particularly admired in 2018. Here you can read Gates’ own recommendations for the books he selected so that you can understand why he decided to include a particular literary masterpiece in his list. Last time he timed it for the holiday season, oh well, but it is never late to read it now if you missed it over Christmas!

So here are Bill Gates’ choices:

Educated, by Tara Westover

Army of None, by Paul Scharre

Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou

21 Lessons for the 21st Century, by Yuval Noah Harari

The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness, by Andy Puddicombe

He even made a Christmas video clip about his end of year book favourites. It is very atmospheric and worth watching!

Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club Picks

Famous “Legally Blonde” Reese Witherspoon who proved everyone not only in the film but in the world that she is more than a pretty face, launched her Instagram book club where she shares details and opinions about her favourite books. She has her own production company and there is a rumour that the books she is reading and sharing on her “virtual book club” page can be considered for movie adaptations by her company! Check her general fiction recommendations as well as enjoy beautiful photos of bookish environments here!

Books Recommended by TED Speakers

We all like to follow Ted presentations with creative entrepreneurs and most innovative thinkers of our time, who share inspiring stories about their personal success. These TED celebrities make the world a better and more enjoyable place to be. Here you will find an inspiring mix of books of different styles and topics: fiction, politics, technology, business etc. The list includes 50 items where each book is recommended by a certain speaker who explains its profound impact on his or her life. The authors range from the American science fiction classic Isaac Asimov to such English novelists as John Galsworthy and Charlotte Bronte. The list has subcategories so that it is very easy to find the books in your domain of interest.

Emma Watson’s Choice

Before being selected as Hermione for the Set of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”, Emma Watson together with the other two young actors – Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint – had to complete assignments for the director Alfonso Cuaron to describe how they understand their characters. Emma in her true Hermione fashion came up with an answer in 16 pages! Later she even took a year off her work to consecrate more time to reading which proves 100% Emma’s booklover’s nature.

When the actress started collaborating closely with UN Women, she became interested in feminist literature which pushed her to create a Goodreads feminist books list. Even though these are feminist books, both men and women are encouraged to share Emma’s passion for good literature! That is why she called it Our Shared Shelf (OSS). Join in! She posts news, adds comments and introduces poets and writers of the month. You can leave your comments in the discussion thread and who knows, you might get a reply from her one day!

What Theodore Roosevelt Wanted Us to Read

Here is a more rigorous list which requires the attention of a prepared reader. Theodore Roosevelt said himself: “A book must be interesting to the particular reader at the particular time”. Many titles on his list are books by ancient writers who became famous with just one literary work like Polybius or Herodotus, for example. The list is long and dry so a lot of people tend to skip quite a few titles out there.

So we assume you will come back to it at your particular time! Happy Reading!